"Urgh... I nearly died, old man that I am... cough, cough..."
Seeing the old doctor, who should have died in her Scorch Release flames, cling to life through some strange means, Pakura was startled.
Her first instinct was to retreat and widen the distance between them.
But the moment she tried to rise, her legs gave out from having exhausted her chakra earlier, and she collapsed to the ground. She no longer had the strength to fight.
All she could do was watch as the old doctor approached her, raised his short blade high, and brought it down with all his might.
At that moment, the world in Pakura's eyes seemed to have hit pause. Everything slowed down.
She could clearly see the short blade slowly descending toward her.
The blade had been scorched red by her Scorch Release flames, wisps of heat still rising from it.
Was I going to die?
So this was what it was like—watching yourself die in slow motion before the end...
Where would I go once I truly died?
Would everyone from my old squad be waiting for me there?
And would I be able to see the parents I lost so long ago?
Forget it. There was no point thinking about so much when I was about to die.
I would only know those answers after I died.
Goodbye, cruel world...
In that fleeting moment before death, countless thoughts flashed through Pakura's mind.
But the short blade in reality did not slow down for her. It was about to strike her.
Resigned to her fate, she closed her eyes and waited for death.
Just then, a figure swept past like a gale, the wind it stirred up sending leaves and grass flying.
Clang!
A longsword wrapped in Wind-attribute chakra struck from the side,